‘Spider-Man’ Reboot: Kevin Feige Says Marvel Are the “Creative Producers” on the Film

It’s still kind of hard to believe that Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios are actually sharing the character of Spider-Man. Such a prospect seemed impossible just a couple of years ago, given that Spider-Man is Sony’s only major comic book property and the fact that they already had in place long-reaching plans for the Andrew Garfield iteration of the franchise, from sequels to a Sinister Six spinoff. But that all changed after the release of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and Marvel and Sony indeed struck an arrangement that sees Marvel including the new Tom Holland Spider-Man in the MCU—making his debut in Captain America: Civil War—while Sony is once again rebooting the character.

At the time that the arrangement became official, there were still some questions as to exactly how Marvel and Sony would be working together on the standalone Spider-Man reboot. The film will be released by Sony, not Marvel’s parent company Disney, so exactly how much input does Marvel have in the movie?

Image via Marvel Studios

During the press day for Captain America: Civil War, Collider’s own Haleigh Foutch posed this question to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, who revealed the details of Marvel’s involvement in the Spider-Man reboot:

“We’re working very much [together]. It is a— I don’t know exactly what the credits will be, but it is a Sony Pictures production of a Marvel Studios film. The agreement was that it is very much a Sony Pictures movie. Amy Pascal is co-producing it with us and [Sony Chairman] Tom Rothman is leading the charge for Sony and that we are the creative producers. We are the ones hiring the actor, introducing him in this film, and then working right now on the script and soon to be shooting the actual Spidey film.”

Feige said the focus right now is on Civil War and the standalone Spider-Man picture, so plans aren’t yet in motion for further sequels in the new Spider-Man franchise, but he did say that Marvel’s deal with Sony does not specifically denote who can and cannot crossover between the franchises. Feige recently said that MCU characters will likely pop up in the Spider-Man film, but there are no contractual specifics as to which ones are allowed to weave between the films.

Image via Marvel Studios

The Marvel Studios president also once again addressed the issue of Spider-Man’s origin story, which he reiterated will not be a focus of either Civil War or the standalone Spider-Man movie:

“We spend a lot of time as we work on these movies saying ‘Don’t take it for granted that the audience saw the other the other movies or that the audience is as versed in the comic books as we are.’ We take great pains to give you everything you need to know within the context of whatever movie you’re actually watching. However, we did say, if it’s safe to assume anything, it’s safe to assume that everybody knows how Spider-Man became Spider-Man and what that backstory was. We’ve seen it a number of times now, it’s its own well-known mythology. So we said, let’s reveal that there’s been a Spider-Man in the MCU and we meet him, as you see, in [Civil War].”

Image via Marvel Comics

That’s not to say aspects of Spider-Man’s well-trodden origin story won’t be addressed, however:

“There are events that made Peter who he was, and we’ll certainly allude to those events, but we’re much more focused on his future and how he continues to grow and have a steep learning curve after, certainly, the adventure he had in Civil War on how to be his own hero.”

Cop Car helmer Jon Watts is set to direct the standalone Spider-Man pic, with filming slated to get underway this summer. And now, per Feige’s revelations here, we have a much clearer idea of where Marvel stands, creatively, with regards to Sony’s reboot. The film is slated for release on July 7, 2017.

For more of our coverage from the Civil War press day, check out our other scoops below:

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